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Stranded
All right. I just started this, and am already having trouble. It would be really cool if you told me my strong points in comments, and what I need to improve on. And remember, this is just adopted, the plot all belongs to Shigura. I Love Rock n Roll,So Put Another Dime In the Jukebox Baby 03:17, June 10, 2013 (UTC) This is part of the Fallen Island series. Chapter One--Goldenpaw "Hey! Loser!" she heard someone shout. She rolled her big blue eyes, and scoffed. "Hey! Loser!" Pricklepaw repeated. "If I say 'what?' will you go away?" Goldenpaw snapped. Pricklepaw leaned over her, opening his mouth to say something, when four beautiful words rang out. "Hey. Leave her alone." Goldenpaw turned to see Darkpaw stalking towards them. "Darkpaw? You a loser now too?" he taunted. She inched away and shook herself, anxious to hear his reply. Darkpaw shook his head, ruffling his gorgeous fur. "You're right. What am I doing, defending Bug-eyes?" Her heart fell. Ignore them, ''she told herself. Her belly growled as she stalked to the fresh-kill pile. A ray of sunshine broke through the clouds, making Goldenpaw's pretty yellow fur shimmer. Goldenpaw actually thought she was quite pretty. Her mother, Blossomstep, always told her how most she-cats would envy her large, swooping ears and gorgeous, big blue eyes. Ha! In fact, she got the wonderful name "Bug-eyes", just showing how beautiful everyone thought she was. Goldenpaw peered down at the pitiful fresh-kill pile. Pickings were meager. The population of the Clans had risen to about three times the original amount of cats. Most didn't really talk about it, but everyone knew it was happening, down to the tiniest kit. ''Oh, let's all just pretend that this isn't happening, like everything's all peachy. Cats already had gathered in the clearing, as Brightstar was already standing on the Highledge. "Cats of ThunderClan!" she called, to the Gathering--size amount of cats, "I have some good news and some bad news." "Get on with it, then!" Since there were so many cats, a Clan meeting couldn't go without a couple of outbursts. Brightstar just ignored it and went on. "The bad news...Millie has died from a greencough outbreak." Sad murmurs rippled through the clearing. Millie had been old; definitely old enough to join StarClan. But perhaps her life would've been more prolonged if she hadn't caught greencough from being in such close quarters. "We will sit vigil for her tonight," Brightstar mewed sadly, gesturing to her body, lined with flower petals and mint leaves. "And now, we have some good news, news that will help ThunderClan grow," she continued. Yeah. As if we need that. ''"Both Lilystreak and I agree that Darkpaw is ready to become a warrior." Darkpaw came forward, looking astonished. Like he had never expected to become a warrior, being so honorable and nice and an excellent fighter. Even better than Goldenpaw herself. ''But there have been a few disobedience issues. ''Goldenpaw remembered all the times he had teased the exasperated Lilystreak. "Darkpaw, do you promise to defend the Clan, even at the cost of your life?" "I do," he mewed firmly. "Then by the power of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Darkpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Darkfoot. May StarClan honor your courage and skill." "Darkfoot! Darkfoot!" The whole of ThunderClan chanted. To her surprise, Goldenpaw found herself joining in as well. Even though Darkfoot had called her "Bug-eyes" just a few moments ago. A big group of his friends flanked him, talking and laughing, including the beautiful Mintpaw. Goldenpaw turned away, to fester in her own thought. But she felt warm breath in her ear. "It'll be you too, before you know it," Darkfoot whispered. Goldenpaw jerked away. ''What just happened...? ''That whisper must've been meant for Mintpaw. She turned to the fresh-kill pile once again, which was now being raided by Darkfoot and Co. Goldenpaw sighed. ''Well...I guess I should be focusing on not becoming fat anyways... She did a quick groom, then stepped into the apprentices' den. It was nicely empty. Cause all of them are out partying with Darkfoot. She curled up into a relaxing sleep, although it was a light one. The rest of the apprentices came trampling in at nearly moonhigh. So Darkfoot wasn't sitting vigil after all... "Ha ha yeah, and how Petalpaw screamed!" she heard Pebblepaw laugh. "Oh, shut up," Petalpaw moaned, "Oh. Looky here." Goldenpaw felt one of her large blue eyes flicker open. "Oh! Oh no! I'm tripping!" someone began to say. Everyone snickered. And splat, ''Goldenpaw felt a huge weight land on her tail. She jumped, her head snapping upright. "Did that ''hurt ''Goldenpaw?" Pricklepaw teased, as Waterpaw got off her tail. She snorted. "Yeah. Only because Waterpaw's so fat," she retorted. "Oooh!" Everyone called out. "You challenging me?" Waterpaw said, in mock anger. "No," she replied plainly. Then curled back up and buried her head in her nest, hiding her tears. "Let's leave her, guys," Mintpaw said, "She's all boring now." There was some muffled, clumsy shuffling around her as every apprentice struggled to find a place to sleep. The issue of overcrowding and disease from overcrowding was once again brought to Goldenpaw's mind, along with her rumbling belly. Yet not even that could cancel out the events of that night. Most of the time she could block out the teasing, and deliver some witty words. And she tried. But that time it hurt her, scarred her feelings. There was not one friendly face to comfort her; even Darkfoot's would do. "You'll never amount to anything, Goldenpaw. Never," Pricklepaw said through the darkness. Chapter 2--Flickerpelt Flickerpelt inched forward, the bloody mouse tail still hooked on his claw. "C'mon Flickerpelt! Do it!" Scorchear whispered. "Yeah, I'm gonna, don't worry," he whispered back. Heatherbreeze and her friends stood in a cluster, giggling about something. With a jerk of his paw, Flickerpelt flung the mouse tail into Heatherbreeze's downy cream fur. The world seemed to fall silent as she screeched. "Oh my StarClan! Eww! I just washed my fur!" The other stuck-up she-cats started either cackling madly or screeching. "I hate you, Flickerpelt!" she reaffirmed. "Why, thank you, my dear," he mewed to her. Then he put on his most charming smile and walked past her, making sure his flank brushed hers. Some of her little friends giggled and whispered madly behind him. ''I really have no life, ''he thought to himself. Only so many warriors were needed to patrol. And too many would scare off the prey. So he was mostly idle, occasionally causing mayhem in the WindClan camp to entertain himself. "Hilarious!" Oakfall purred as he stepped up beside him. "Flickerpelt!" a voice boomed behind him. ''Oh, fox dung. I can't get in trouble, now that I'm a warrior, can I? He turned to Oakfall and shrugged. "Guess I had better face the big, scary Crowstar." "Yes, you better," Crowstar mewed from behind him. "Since you have nothing better to do than terrorize pretty she-cats, I guess I had better put you on a border patrol. Go with Cloudfur, Skydapple, and...oh, Oakfall, you go too." Flickerpelt nodded, and walked along with Oakfall to the others. He hated how he was always underestimated and pushed away, only because of his small size. He was actually surprisingly strong, and an excellent fighter. "Who's leading the patrol?" Skydapple asked testily. "Better be me," Oakfall answered. "Aw, come on. I haven't led a patrol before!" Flickerpelt complained. Skydapple sighed. "Fine. Whatever. Now let's get this over with." They set out over the moor. Flickerpelt let the cool breeze ruffle his fur. It was so nice to get out of the stuffy, overcrowded camp for a change. The Clans had been having problems with the amount of cats they brought up. There was disease, lack of prey, and high tensions, but Flickerpelt secretly feared that there was so many cats that their presence would become know to Twolegs. And they would come with their monsters and "cages"...he shivered. Crowstar could certaintly tell chilling stories of Twolegs. Cloudfur halted, and sniffed the air. "ShadowClan," he growled. ShadowClan? What would ShadowClan be doing all the way on WindClan territory? "Let's go see," he growled as he jerked back into reality. There was ''definitely ShadowClan scent drifting on the moor breeze. "Over there!" Oakfall exclaimed, pointing to a few dots on the next hill. Flickerpelt led them forward with his tail. He spotted a familiar reddish ginger pelt and bushy tailed she-cat on the patrol. Flickerpelt filed through his memory, trying to recall her name. ''Firestep? Fireshadow?....Yeah, Fireshadow. He concluded. She was one of ShadowClan's best warriors. To his fear, he noticed that the ShadowClan patrol dwarfed the WindClan one. Flickerpelt narrowed his amber eyes, preparing to speak. "This is WindClan territory. What are you doing here?" "Yes. I had noticed," Fireshadow countered, "We came to speak to Crowstar." Flickerpelt scanned the hills for others, and didn't detect an ambush. "Okay. We'll lead you to camp." Cloudfur whispered to him, "You had better take the rear. Never know what ShadowClan is up to, the sly foxes." He nodded in agreement and slunk behind the patrol Soon, they arrived in camp. All eyes were trained on them, as nothing interesting had happened lately. Fireshadow's muscles rippled under her lean, glossy ginger coat. "We wish to speak to Crowstar," she mewed to Gorsenight, their deputy. Crowstar's frail black form was already padding out of his den. "Why have you brought ShadowClan warriors into the heart of our territory?" he growled, "And what do you want? It must be important, for you to cross to the other side of the lake." "Yeah, it is," she muttered, "Applestar wants to deliver a message. She proposes an alliance. Together, WindClan and ShadowClan can destroy those greedy ''ThunderClan hypocrites." Flickerpelt snorted. Although this pretty Fireshadow cat was a great warrior, she was obviously not one for dimplomacy. The older tom of the ShadowClan patrol lightly shouldered her aside. "What Fireshade means," he began, "Is that with the obvious rise in the population of cats, ThunderClan is taking all the prey, naturally." ''Yeah. Naturally, ''he thought in agreement. "Applestar wants ShadowClan and WindClan to ally, to battle ThunderClan. If we don't now, ThunderClan could get...feisty. Maybe they would become interested in our territories. So it is up to us to stop this at the bud." ''Ah. Fireshade. That's her name, ''Flickerpelt thought, absentmindedly staring at her. He shook out of it, realizing that a huge, important speech just went striaght over hs head. "Well," Crowstar started, "ShadowClan has never been one to rely on another Clan...." "We're not ''relying ''on anyone," Fireshade growled. The older tom silenced her with a flick of his tail. "But Applestar has a good point," he decided, "WindClan agrees to this. But we need to send patrols for communication between us, every now and then." "Always crossing over RiverClan territory, not ThunderClan," the ShadowClan tom stated. "Of course." "But wait," Fireshade interjected, "If RiverClan catches some of our patrols, they will know something's up between us. Then, just maybe, they would ally with ThunderClan for their safety. The fish-faces." Crowstar nodded. "I see your point. What would you propose then?" "I think...I think we should communicate using singular cats, that can be disguised as 'loners'. There are so ''many ''of us," she continued, putting an emphasis on ''many, ''"One cat with disguised scent should be able to sneak through." Crowstar nodded again, trying to act unimpressed. "Right. Now...anything else? Or may we escort you out?" Flickerpelt curled up in the grass that night, reluctant to sleep. He gazed over his Clanmates, taking up all the room of the hollow. ''Will war on ThunderClan eliminate our problems, for real? ''Flickerpelt usually wasn't one for deep thought, especially at night. But wouldn't fighting...just make things worse? He heard a rattling cough. ''Sickness, lack of prey...and war on ThunderClan. Skydapple scooted up next to Flickerpelt. "Can't sleep?" she questioned. "Yeah. Just a lot on my mind." "You're wondering about how much worse the conditions will get during the war." "Yep." "Okay, so things might get bad..." Skydapple admitted, "But you have to realize the grim, horrible truth. The battle against ThunderClan may cause cats to die. And that isn't necessarily a bad thing right now." "How can cats dying not be a bad thing?" he demanded. "Well, Flickerpelt...in case you haven't noticed, things are getting a bit crowded." "Or course I've noticed. I'm not stupid. Well...at least not all the time," he admitted. Skydapple shook her head. "First of all, you're not stupid. Second of all...cats will die in war quickly, and it will be faster and less than when disease strikes harder in leaf-bare. Flickerpelt clawed at the grass. "Why can't we just find a new home, a bigger one? One that will support us all, so we don't have to kill off cats to decrease the numbers." "It's not that simple." "I know. Stop acting like you're my mother." Skydapple scoffed. "You're hopeless. I'm going to sleep." "Fine." Oh, but Flickerpelt, the war is good because we need to kill cats to decrease the monstrously large population! Now go sharpen your claws! He slipped into sleep, his dreams haunted with images of Skydapple slicing through pelts of ThunderClan apprentices, her claws long and sharp, stained with blood. Chapter 3--Fireshade She cracked open one eyes It was early dawn. The sky still had a dark, gray tinge. Ugh.... Fireshade muttered curses as she had to step over and around mounds of sleeping cats. There's too many cats here. I hate this. I hate it. She wasn't much of a social cat. She didn't care much for toms either, except to be her friends. A groan escaped her lips as she realized how many cats were already up; she had planned to get up early, and she did. But no, loyal Fireshade couldn't have some prey, peace, and quiet. Narrowing her amber and gold eyes, she stepped to the middle of the crowd. Then she flicked her bushy tail, clearing her throat a couple times. It had the desired affect. Bam! ''The crowd parted, letting her get to the fresh-kill pile. ''I love being "frightening". Fireshade plunked down next to Pineclaw and Nightheart, a frog in front of her. "Hey. What's up?" she greeted them. "Hey," Pineclaw responded, "Well you're up early." "I got up early so I wouldn't have to put up with you," she scoffed. Nightheart's eyes twinkled with laughter. "Yeah, right. You know you can't stay away." "And what makes you think we want you ''here?" Pineclaw purred. Fireshade playfully swatted him, and rose to her feet, her frog finished. She began padding back to the warriors' den. ''Now to get some more shut-eye... "Fireshade." I didn't just hear that, nope, not at all... "Fireshade!" She spun around. "What!" "Patrol. You lead." "I just went ''on last night's one to WindClan. In fact, I ''led ''it, Marshwhisker," she replied. Marshwhisker didn't waver. ''He thinks he's so great, just because he's a senior warrior... "Fine. I'll go hunting later, if you let me go to sleep now." Silence greeted her words. "Ah, screw it. I'll go hunting now." Fireshade bounded out of camp before Marshwhisker could catch her. Her muscles tensed as she stalked along the dirt ground, not brushing a single pine needle. Her ears pricked, as she heard a little chatter. Squirrel. The little nutter was shuffling around in the pine leaves, hoping to find some food. Fireshade came closer and closer, treading lightly. But as she sprung up, her foot brushed a crackly leaf. The squirrel bolted up a tree, leaving Fireshade with nothing. She grumbled, and decided to try for a frog. She arrived in camp with a lizard dangling from her jaws. Not like it will even make a difference, there's so many cats too feed. So many cats that will go hungry. Everyone in the clearing seemed to be clustered around something. As she looked closer, she realized there were two cats, standing in the middle of the throng, that didn't smell of ShadowClan. WindClan! A message! Fireshade dashed to the crowd, her ears pricked, feathery tail swishing. At first, she thought it was that arrogant little tom who had fetched her to the WindClan camp. But even through the crowd, she noticed that there was no WindClan scent. These cats were ones she had never met. A wail rose up. "Please! He's really hurting!" a she-cat shouted desperately. Fireshade stalked up next to Pineclaw. "What's going on here?" she mumbled out of the side of her mouth. "Two RiverClan cats. A she-cat brought a tom apprentice over for help. He's apparently really sick," Pineclaw whispered back. Cindernose scooted over next to them. "And she's not too ugly, for one of those RiverClan fatties! I mean...mrrow!" Fireshade rolled her eyes, and peered over the ocean of ShadowClan cats. The she cat was easily the most beautiful she-cat she had ever seen. Her pelt was a downy tortoiseshell, and her aqua blue eyes shimmered. It made her feel suddenly self-conscious of her dull reddish brown pelt, streaked with marsh mud from hunting. Applestar stalked forward to converse with them further. "What's your name?" "Willowtail. And this is Scratchpaw. Please help him! We think the Twolegs have poisoned the river again! And sickness and starvation are sweeping through our camp as we speak!" Applestar's eyes gleamed, as she was deep in thought. Scratchpaw coughed. "Willowtail," he rasped, "What...what are you thinking? Put our Clan...in further danger." "What would ShadowClan earn from knowing?" Willowtail cried stupidly. Idiot. We could go take their precious territory right now, if we wanted to. Or if we needed to...the ShadowClan camp is quite populous. "Snowleaf. Get some herbs for this RiverClan apprentice," Applestar called. "Erm...our herb stores are running a bit low...but I suppose I could spare a few yarrow leaves...." Snowleaf responded. "Doesn't yarrow just make you more ''sick?" Pineclaw observed quietly. Fireshade turned to him. "Yes. But as the river's poisoned, Scratchpaw probably needs to puke up some water." "Any more well thought our philosophy from Fireshade?" Pineclaw teased. She rolled her eyes. "It's not philosophy. It's common fact. And philosophy isn't knowing random facts, it's deep thinking about the important things in life." He groaned. "I can't stand you anymore." "I would say something witty, but I don't think your mind would understand my ''philosophy," she purred, as she padded away, flicking her tail in Pineclaw's face. Even though she-cats were mostly idiots, sometimes you just had ''to wonder about toms. She watched in pity as Scratchpaw vomited some murky fluid. "Now that that's out of his system, he just needs some rest and good food," Snowleaf advised. "As if we even have that," Willowtail muttered under her breath. She spoke louder. "Well. The show's over now. I suggest you get back to your lives, if you even have ones." Her eyes glimmered back to more of a green-aqua. Scratchpaw heaved himself to his feet, and cast an angry glance at Willowtail as they left. ''I wonder if Reedstar even knows what's going on. What leader would? There are so many cats, you don't even know all of your Clanmates' names. That was certaintly true for Fireshade, who spied some unfamiliar faces in the crowd of ShadowClan. One of them padded up to her. "Hi Fireshade. You look good," the silver she-cat purred. Fireshade narrowed her eyes to slits. "Why, thank you," she grumbled. "Oh, lighten up," she mewed, "You won't pull the toms in with that attitude." Her eyes seemed to twinkle knowingly. "What are you saying?" Fireshade growled. "Um...like, open your eyes, Fireshade. Pineclaw is sooo into you," she replied excitedly. Why me? Fireshade snapped around to the unknown she-cat. "Look, you pansy, I don't even know your name. I don't know why you would be approaching me and talking to me about my love life. Pineclaw and I are just friends, that's all!" Or frenemies, ''she thought to herself. She looked hurt. "You don't remember me? It's Silverkit. Or Silvertuft now. We played together as kits." Fireshade scoured her memories. "Yeah. I guess I remember you a bit," she said lamely. Silvertuft raised her eyebrows. "Wanna go hunting with me? I could give you a few pointers on toms--" "No thanks," Fireshade interrupted, "I already went hunting this morning." She stalked away from Silvertuft, without saying another word. Her blue eyes glistened as she walked away. ''Maybe she's not so bad after all, if you get to know her. She was only trying to help... She shook off her thoughts as she settled into her nest. She-cats like Silvertuft would flood her life with babbling about toms and fur styles, if she would ever get trapped in the web. She yawned, striaghtening her bracken. After that rough morning, all she wanted to do was sleep. Yet instead of dozing off, she couldn't help but think. She had seen the hungry look in Applestar's eyes as Willowtail described RiverClan's misery. Applestar is a nice, just leader. Would she really think of invading RiverClan for more territory? After planning war on ThunderClan even...no wonder ShadowClan is viewed as bloodthirsty. But we need the territory! ShadowClan is the most populous Clan. And we could end up like RiverClan, if our territory won't support us. Ugh, why can't we just move away? Move away to a place that will support us all sufficiently? So we don't have to invade ThunderClan and RiverClan all at once? RiverClan. Were they even in that bad a shape? Maybe, just maybe... "Fireshade, we need you outside now," a voice said, interrupting her thoughts. She groaned. "Why does it always have to be me ''when you want to bug someone? I'm sure anybody but me would be thrilled." Getting to her paws, she saw Duckflight, the shady ShadowClan deputy. Word always flew around that he was teased as an apprentice about his name, and in return became harsh and unforgiving. "Applestar has called the Clan together again. We need you outside." "Ugh, fine." Fireshade was stunned every time she saw the rippling mass of ShadowClan cats, all talking absentmindedly, yet shifting like they were one. "ShadowClan should be ready to attack ThunderClan soon. RiverClan is obviously not threat to us. Now that WindClan is on our side, we should be able to conquer their territory after we defeat ThunderClan. Now we'll send a messenger to WindClan. I debated between Cindernose, Mistear, Leafpelt, Silvertuft, Lilyclaw, and Fireshade." Fireshade's ears pricked as she heard her name. "And Duckflight and I have decided on Mistear," Applestar declared. Her heart fell. ''More idle boredom in an overcrowded camp for me. Mistear came up to Applestar. "You won't need to disguise yourself. Just go through; we already know RiverClan is weak." Fireshade could see clearly that no Clan was in very good shape. Yet she detected a possible trick. "Wait," she spoke. Applestar's gaze rested on her. "Yes, Fireshade? What is so crucial that you must interrupt us now?" She snorted, unwilling to be stomped on. "Yes. In fact, something quite important. Scratchpaw and Willowtail came to ShadowClan willingly, in not a very good condition," she began. Duckflight turned on her. "Frankly, I don't think any of us are in good condition. There are too many cats, and every Clan is struggling." Fireshade openly ignored him, gritting her teeth. "Yes, but RiverClan was supposedly much worse. But do we know that for sure? Willowtail was just a little bit too willing to tell us about the tragedy of RiverClan. do you think, perhaps, they could be setting a trap?" Silence met her words. Finally, Duckflight spoke again. "Well I think it's ridiculous. You have always been a bit too suspicious and untrusting, Fireshade." "Oh, yes. I am untrusting of other Clans. How strange," she shot back. Applestar silenced them with a flick of her tail. She looked up at her in the Talltree, expectantly. "That is actually a very intellignet observation, Fireshade. You are too smart for your own good. Now since I agree with you, I will send a spy to RiverClan. Someone cunning." Oh, gee, I wonder what's coming up next. "And that should be you, Fireshade." She nodded. "May I bring someone with me?" "Yes. Go ahead." Mistear looked to her and nodded, like she was her comrade. Mistear was actually pretty sensible though. Fireshade nodded back. Stalking away, she decided to go find Pineclaw. Or possibly Nightheart. But Silvertuft's words rang through her head once again. "Um, open your eyes, Fireshade. Pineclaw is soo into you." She decided to cancel out that option. She didn't see Nightheart anywhere, either. And Cindernose seemed to be lost in the sea of cats. Guess I'll just go alone. Just then, she spotted a now familiar set of blue eyes. Silvertuft stood a few fox lengths from her, kneading the ground, staring into her eyes. I can't believe I'm doing this. ''She padded up to her. "Hey, Silvertuft," she greeted. "Yes?" she responded, seeming to already know Fireshade's words, before they came out of her mouth. "We're going to spy on RiverClan together." Chapter 4--Darkfoot Darkfoot stood up and stretched; he had a long night, and it felt good to finally take a nap. Even though the warriors' den would definitely need some getting used to. He padded out of the den, and found himself standing next to Poolclaw. "Hey, Darkfoot! You're finally up, you lazy hedgehog!" he purred. Darkfoot purred back. ''I just became a warrior yesterday, and they're already treating me like one of them! "How was the vigil last night?" Poolclaw mewed. Darkfoot shrugged. "S'okay." "Ah. I see. Definitely ready to ditch all of those apprentices?" "Ha. Some of them. But no, I didn't ditch my vigil to party with them." He felt a twinge of guilt at his lie. "Some of them? Like you'll miss Mintpaw ''you mean?" he teased. He shook his head. "Nah. Mintpaw's kind of a pain in the tail." "I see." He yawned again. "I'd better check in with Lionblaze, for patrols." "'Kay. See you around." Darkfoot padded up to Lionblaze. "Any patrols?" Lionblaze shook his head. "No, we already have enough cats out. You should rest. You must be tired." He shrugged. Despite his lack of sleep, his paws were itching to do ''something ''useful. Lionblaze's gaze burned into his back as he padded out of the tunnel. Guilt tugged at his fur again. ''"Hey, Darkfoot!" Pebblepaw exclaimed, "I dare you to drop this on Petalpaw!" "Oh, it's on," he replied. It appeared to be a wad of rabbit droppings. "Do you think we should try and find the rabbit?" Rockpaw piped up. Darkfoot could see his logic, but as usual, everyone ignored him. He was the least popular, except for Goldenpaw. Goldenpaw, he thought, as his paws carried him into the leafy forest. Guilt ridden, he thought of her 'bug-eyes'. Darkfoot had always believed that their shimmering blue was beautiful, and their largeness the perfect accent. She had a really peppy and cute, yet firey personality too. He had seen it in her training. But who knew how much it would hurt him if he made friends with her. Without further hesitation, he wrapped the droppings in a leaf and stalked up behind Petalpaw. He let the dung fall onto her fur with a ''splat. ''Petalpaw let out a screech that echoed through the night, causing the nesting birds to flutter into the sky. They were like little black pinpricks bouncing through the midnight blue. But he was a warrior now! He couldn't let himself be bound by the silly apprentice rankings and cliques! Trying to shake off the thoughts of the night before, he decided to start actually hunting. He sniffed the air, looking for scent. Blackbird. But it still didn't interrupt his flashback. "Oh my StarClan, Darkfoot!" Petalpaw shouted, "My fur! When I'm through with you..." "Ah, ah, ah," Darkfoot mewed playfully, "I'm a warrior now, remember? So you can't get away with whatever you want to do." Petalpaw rolled her eyes. But then took a step closer, and batted her eyelashes. Everyone seemed to stop their mischief, to look at the excitement. "Hey," someone said. He turned to see that it was Mintpaw. "What is StarClan's name are you doing?" she hissed, then shoved her face really close into Petalpaw's, so only she and Darkfoot could hear. "So you screech at him, then try to flirt? It was a pathetic attempt. And what's more, he's mine, you understand? He likes me, not you, you fake giggly loser. No one even likes you. You're barely above Goldenpaw and Rockpaw," she spat. "Hey," Darkfoot interjected, "You both need to settle down. It was just a prank. And you two are ruining it for everyone." "Aren't you supposed to be on your vigil, anyways?" Petalpaw sniffed. He scuffled his paws. "Well, yes... but that means little, compared to a night with m closest friends," he improvised. The two she-cats looked satisfied, and the noise started again. Petalpaw and Mintpaw began to babble about which flowers matched their fur perfectly. Sometimes Darkfoot questioned their mental capacity. "Hey!" Pricklepaw said over the clamor, "Why don't we go explore somewhere new?" "Like where?" Waterpaw scoffed, absentmindedly kicking stones against a tree trunk. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe ShadowClan territory?" His concentration broke again, as he thought of this. The blackbird fluttered into the rustling trees, as he had stepped on a stick. "Mouse dung," he muttered. But whether or not he was a warrior, he would still lose their respect if her reached out to Goldenpaw. And he thought of Mintpaw and Petalpaw. They weren't exactly nice and sweet, although that was their cover. If he even talked ''to Goldenpaw, they would make her life terrible. Maybe it would be better if he just kept his distance. ''"Are you crazy? We're already risking enough by doing this!" Daffodilpaw exclaimed. "Shut up," Waterpaw mewed to her, "You're such a killjoy." Daffodilpaw just snorted and waved her tail angrily. "Those in favor?" Half of the apprentices nodded. A few just scuffled their paws indecisively. Some even hissed. "Screw it," Darkfoot mewed, "Those who want to come, come. Those who want to sit around and be boring, do so." In the end, all of the apprentices turned out to be going. Even Rockpaw and Daffodilpaw, just to boost their popularity points. Pricklepaw went crashing over the ShadowClan border, obviously making no attempt to be silent. Darkfoot and the rest followed more silently, although there was talking and laughter. ShadowClan territory differed greatly from ThunderClan's, even though it was still a forest. Marshes squished underpaw, and pine trees loomed over them. He sniffed the air, his ears pricked. Mintpaw padded up beside him, her green eyes glimmering. "What's the matter?" she mewed, "You seem tense." "We ''are ''on enemy territory," he pointed out. Mintpaw sniffed. "It's almost like you're in a different world now." "Different world? Don't be silly. I'll still be a ThunderClan cat, in the camp. And technically I won't be a warrior until dawn." He was reminded horribly of his vigil. "I suppose you're right," she purred. Then she hooked her claws into a ShadowClan pine, and left oblique gouges on the soft wood. Mintpaw nodded to him. He shrugged, then made scratch marks over hers. For the rest of their time, they stayed in ShadowClan territory, talking and laughing, reminiscing. "And then Goldenpaw's all 'Darkpaw, I suggest you get something better to do with you life, because I find it terrible that yours will be wasted, and that's the only one you got. If you haven't wasted it already.' What a stupid comeback!" Darkfoot winced. Just that once, Goldenpaw decided not to say something completely derogatory as a comeback, and give honest advice. He decided to head back to camp, even though he only had caught a vole. "Yeah, but you can't deny, she's a pretty good fighter," Waterpaw put out reluctantly. "Only because she has no social life, so she has unlimited time to practice," Mintpaw scoffed. And why does she have no social life? Because we don't welcome her, even though she could very well be a cool and funny she-cat. "Practicing battle moves ''is ''still a part of life," Darkfoot reasoned. "Yeah, but still." "Let's go back," Rockpaw mewed. "You can, loser," Pebblepaw retorted, "We'd be happy if you did." "Shut up," Darkfoot hissed, "And I guess I had better go back, too. I want it to at least look like I did my vigil. Or part of it, anyways." He saw Pricklepaw and Waterpaw laughing from across the hollow. A half-eaten mouse lay in the dust. Darkfoot hissed. Did they have any idea of how many cats were hungry because of rise in population? Now, the mouse was gone to waste. He padded up to them. "Are you going to finish that he?" he asked. Waterpaw shrugged. "Yeah." He slowly bent over to take a bite out of it, and grimaced. "Dusty," he mewed. Without saying goodbye, he stepped into the warriors' den. What seemed like tons of faces rose from the bunches of moss and fern, weeds and leaves in some cases. With a lot of cats, there was always a shortage in material. "Hi, Darkfoot!" someone said cheerily, although he didn't have the slightest idea of who it was. I'm going to die of claustrophobia in here. "Hi," he mumbled back, and sank into the his uncomfortable, weedy nest. He was the newest warrior, so he didn't exactly get the luxury spot in the middle of the dome-like den. As he closed his eyes, he began to imagine that he was lying in a beautiful pale green meadow, instead of a pile of weeds. A blue sky was overhead, along with a golden sun. His Clanmates stood around him, talking and laughing. He saw all of his apprentice friends next to him, except much more mature-looking. Goldenpaw was there too, smiling, her fur alight with the sunshine. Even as he got drowsier, he noticed that there were other cats, too. Darkfoot strided to the front of everyone in the meadow, to see more and more cats pad along. To his surprise, he saw Brightstar, Reedstar, Crowstar, and Applestar all walking in front of the massive horde of cats. Darkfoot rolled over and put his paw over his nose. My imagination is getting away with me. I must spend way too much time in my own head. Yet the cheerful, happy image began to become more confusing. Stretching in front of them, was a huge expanse of churning blue water. Sand speckled the ground before it. It must be the sun-drown place. First constantly thinking about last night, now having this strange vision... Unable to take any more thinking, he decided to go make some friends. He didn't want to end up as the warriors' Rockpaw. Chapter 5--Willowtail RiverClan. A whole bunch of "overfed fatties", ''Willowtail thought angrily. ''Yeah. We're so "overfed". The river seemed to merely trickled by the camp, as Willowtail gazed over the water and into ThunderClan territory. The Clan was lucky if they could even find a minnow in the once-gushing flow of water, now reduced to a little brook. Willowtail seemed to be working her charm that day, because she spotted a flash of silver among the ripples. She instantly went rigid, her paw raised. The minnow darted to the surface again. In a flash, she scooped it out with her paw, onto the pebbly shore, and killed it with a swift bite. Despite her appearance, she could really hunt and fight. Loneliness overtook her, as there was no one standing behind her to say, "Nice catch!" They were all in the camp, wallowing in sickness, hunger, and despair. Reedstar and Willowshine did all they could to help RiverClan, that was for sure. But some things were just beyond everyones' control. As she arrived in camp, heads turned in her direction. Before things got bad, that would've been because of Willowtail's beautiful, glossy tortoiseshell pelt. Now it probably was just at the prospect of food. Some liked to call her conceited. Well, she never asked to beautiful, did she? Yeah, she knew that she was gorgeous. But she didnt' exactly flaunt it, so insulting her like that was completely uncalled for. Instead of dropping the minnow in the middle of the clearing, Willowtail took it directly into the nursery. Honeythorn lay on her side, her belly swollen to twice the normal size. She would be kitting soon; Willowtail pitied her. Not that she wouldn't ever want kits of her own, it was just a horrible time for little ones to be born. "Here. You can all share it," Willowtail mewed. Then she set the minnow down on the soft nursery floor. Honeythorn pushed it away. "Let Squirrelmist and Mossmask have it. They have kits to feed." Chillingbreeze nodded her agreement. Willowtail hissed under breath. Sometimes it seemed as if queens, such as Honeythorn, were just saying those things to appear noble. But it was ''true. Squirrelmist and Mossmask had a lot of kits to feed, and they would need their strength for the days to come. Willowtail ducked out of the den. The clearing seemed deserted. Willowtail remembered when she was a kit, it would always be full of bustling Clan life. She would squeak and weave between the legs of the warriors, while her mother would anxiously call for her to not get in anyones' way. Her siblings, Rowanstream and Shadefern, had died a couple moons before, of malnourishment. Sadness pricked at her heart as she thought of them. They were the only ones in the entire Clan who didn't treat her like some delicate, pretty little she-cat, even though she looked like one. She considered going back out again, but decided that it was no use. If she brought back more prey than she could carry, it woul still barely make a difference. Instead, she chose to go visit Scratchpaw. It had been roughly a day since she had taken Scratchpaw to ShadowClan for help. His condition had gotten better since then, but he still had to sleep in the overcrowded medicine den. He seemed to have some sort of dread disease from drinking the river water, where he would just sit there and puke out the contents of his stomach (the fish seemed to be fine, at worst they would cause you to puke once). As soon as Willowtail stepped in, she was instantly repulsed by the overwhelming stench of sickness. She fanned the air with her tail, and stepped around the masses of sick cats, to reach Scratchpaw. He was up against the wall in a reed nest, looking exceptionally sleepy, cross, and sick. "Hi, Scratchpaw!" she bubbled. He just looked up at her. "Hi," he finally said. "How're you?" "What does it look like?" he hissed. Willowtail hissed back at him. "I'm sorry, I visit you and try to be nice, and you put me down?" He sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm just not feeling too well, and not it a very good mood." Willowtail's heart began to thump a bit louder. ''I shouldn't get so mad at Scratchpaw. He's sick and miserable. But he's lucky that ''I'm ''visiting him. Willowtail babbled to him for a while longer, just to keep him company. Scratchpaw just stared back up, with his sweet green eyes. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Willowshine stalk up, eyes narrowed. Oh goody. Willowshine was very old. She had been medicine cat even before Willowtail was born. She was exhausted, and overworked with the insane amount of cats she had to tend to. She had no apprentice, and Squirrelmist and Mossmasks' kits were too young to show any potential. "What are you doing here?" she snapped. "Visiting a patient," she mewed testily. "Well, I have enough to worry about without you clunking in here and interfering. Out, now!" "Oh, so it's now a crime to visit a sick cat?" Willowtail hissed. Willowshine growled. "You think you can just strut around camp, doing anything, just because you're pretty and your father is Clan leader. Well, I won't have any of it!" Strut around camp, because she was pretty, and because of her parentage? It was cats saying things like that that really set her off. "Look, I didn't ask to be pretty and born to Reedstar, okay?" Willowtail said, surprisingly calm. "I hate it when cats use those as a tool to attack me with. Bye, Scratchpaw." Without another word, she stalked out of the den. She felt a bit guilty, because Willowshine was stressed and overworked, but she had no right to say things like that. She looked over her shoulder, to see Scratchpaw staring after her, betraying no emotion. Her heart gave a little tug. She was embarrassed to admit, but she thought that she would want her and Scratchpaw to become... well, a bit more than friends. It was customary for she-cats to like toms who were older than them, and Willowtail was no exception. But Scratchpaw was something special; she could feel it. Needing to release all of her feelings, she searched around for some of her friends who weren't sick. Her closest friend, Sandstreak, was sick too. Willowtail felt a bit guilty for not visiting her, but Scratchpaw was in worse condition, and Willowshine shooed her out before that was even possible. She spotted Morningsong and Waterfang making small talk next to the warriors' den. Willowtail padded over to them. "Hi Willowtail," Morningsong mewed. Suddenly, she heard a rustle and a frustrated hiss. "Did you just hear that?" she asked. "I thought I heard something..." Waterfang muttered, her long teeth poking out. If tose fangs of hers weren't so prominent, she might even be almost as pretty as Willowtail. Morningsong shrugged. "It was probably nothing." "Who do you think is going to the Gathering tonight?" Waterfang said, cleverly changing the subject. Willowtail itched to talk to Morningsong and Waterfang about Scratchpaw, but now she was standing in front of them, the words couldn't seem to come out. Morningsong sniffed. "Barely anyone. And we all know why." Her belly growled, reminding everyone of the condition. "Did you go hunting, Willowtail?" she asked. Willowtail nodded. "I caught a minnow and gave it to the queens." Morningsong sighed. "Those kits are so adorable. But for all we know, they couldn't live until tomorrow." Waterfang was clearly getting sick of the sappy talk. She opened her mouth to say some sort of excuse to leave, when the bushes rustled again. "I'm seriously thinking we should investigate," Willowtail said. But as she peered into the bushes, she saw nothing there. Chapter 6 coming soon